We first read Berry’s The Templar Legacy. I liked the action and enjoyed the adventure; I felt like I traveled through Europe through that book. I know I wrote two posts about reading it.

I wouldn’t say The Amber Room is exactly like it, it’s probably less complicated and less mysterious. But it is, nevertheless, also about looking for treasures long thought to have been lost. The difference here though is that there’s no shaking truth to be learned in the end. No beliefs to be shattered.

Disappointingly, it wasn’t the page-turner I had anticipated it to be though it did have it’s fair share of action. Christian Knoll came out more like a horny pig in the end than the calculated thief-killer that he was being played out to be at the beginning. I also couldn’t help but wish there was a different ending for Suzanne Danzer. She could have been so much more; and there was show of some remorse for the killing she had had to do in her life. I really thought she and Knoll would band together in the end.

What happened to the Cutlers was quite predictable, I mean, it was written all over. There was no clarity there though, in terms of why they had split up in the first place.

Their relationship made me think about my own relationships, specifically how having too much differences could be really hard on two people. In the past, boyfriend and I would speak harshly to each other – just as Rachel sometimes does to Paul – and then regret having said anything. I used to think that was more of Alfred’s problem, that he was the one who could really say hurtful things when he’s mad. He’s changed a lot after all these years and I do see his effort in restraining himself from saying anything he would regret. I remember saying in the past that we can’t take back words we’ve already uttered, even after saying sorry or being forgiven. The cut stays. I remind myself today not to make that mistake because I know I can be hurtful too.

Like this:

My parents were at EDSA I; they were in the middle of events leading up to it too, and in the revolution led years before. It’s been no secret that my parents were both in the militant movement in their younger days – up until they had us. Both of them were political prisoners at different times – my dad first for a couple of years when my brother was a young boy; my mom for a few months while I was still an infant. EDSA I was the time when the people’s rage reached boiling point, it was the result of many years of toil. After EDSA, my parents were involved in various development efforts and they were still doing their fair share in effecting change. They no longer moved in the underground but were out in the open.

It is sad that today, at the commemoration ‘rally’ at EDSA, there were more military and police personnel than there were civilians. It is sad that today, 22 years later, we are in need of another EDSA.

I am disappointed that Erap is free to be interviewed on the Al Jazeerah channel and say that Gloria is an illegitimate president. Why? Definitely not because I support Gloria and her administration, but because Erap himself was the subject of an EDSA Revolution, one that I was proud to have participated in. His freedom now speaks of the failure of EDSAs past.

As a people, we are proud of the spirit of EDSA, and yet we elect the wrong people to office time and again. The ZTE-NBN deal is but one of many deals that reeked of corruption. Anyone actually involved in government projects would know that there are many ways that a politician or a government employee can pocket the people’s money. Perhaps not everyone is in on it, perhaps you have some who strive to effect change within the system. But how can it really be done?

If we get rid of Gloria today, how can we be assured that those who remain in office won’t carry on with the culture they have already so ingrained? Is it enough to replace the head? Come on, graft and corruption happens across the board, and it cuts across all the colors of the political spectrum. Who can we trust not to let us down yet again?

*edit*

So a Justice Department official was quoted to have said that Erap may be put back in jail if he doesn’t stop questioning the legitimacy of Arroyo’s presidency. Heck, he’s been doing that since a week or so after he was pardoned. He is clearly getting away with not honoring his end of the terms of the pardon!

Like this:

By Wednesday, I’ve almost lost hope – I weighed in and found that I was 1lb heavier than I was on Saturday! I did stick with the program until Thursday and even only had salad for lunch at work on the 5th day (earlier). It paid off. By weigh in a few hours ago, I shed off some of those unwanted weight!

It still is going very very slowly but I seem to have a lot of patience. I will continue eating wisely and in fact, I am making my meal plans for next week. I’m thinking of including Alfred in on this plan, he says he’s in as long as it means he doesn’t need to starve.

March is going to be a better month for me, I can feel it. 🙂

On a totally different note… *rant alert*

I learned that something I’ve been waiting for still won’t push through, but the sad thing about it is that it will happen to someone else 🙁

I got zero, zip, zilch, nada – in my Payroll account. Seems to be the bank’s fault as I’m not the only one with this problem. My colleague got 4 times more than was due to him. There are others more. That sucks big time. This is my second negative experience with that bank and it is so disappointing. Oh, it’s Unionbank/Ibank by the way. Grrr!

Like this:

Those who have known me for awhile, specially those who have visited us at home (here at 19th street, back at Fairview, and especially back at our old house in the Seminary) would know how widely read my family and I are. Between all four of us, we own or have purchased hundreds of books through the years. In the last 5 years or so, second-hand or previously owned books have also graced our doors.

There is a small second-hand bookshop at The Loop, located at the ground floor of our office building and I’ve spent a lot of time there since it opened late last year. I passed by the bookshop twice last week, and ended up purchasing several books on each visit. There was one by Clive Cussler – a Dirk Pitt novel that managed to slip by my dad; a Scottoline that I knew my mom (and I) would enjoy; a Steve Berry novel that would also interest us all; a chic lit novel by Weiner that I’ve also been wanting to purchase but didn’t want to get at full price. And there were more.

From all the books I’ve bought recently, I’ve finished Lisa Scottoline’s Running from the Law. It probably isn’t her best work, certainly not the most memorable one that I’ve read by her, but it was a good read. It’s a lawyer/crime novel but it doesn’t get you feeling like you want to become one, unlike others in the same genre. It did nor reawaken my dreams of becoming a lawyer myself, certainly not. I guess what sets Running apart is that it focused more on the conflicts that the heroine was going through during that very important case of her career.

I guess what didn’t make it memorable was the author’s seeming conservatism in terms of letting us into the girl’s psyche. Readers will know there was something wrong, but never really why it had gone wrong. It left a lot to one’s imagination, which isn’t necessarily bad. There wasn’t much mystery in the court case, but there were lots in the protagonist’s personal life. There were questions left hanging, but maybe it was only so because I wasn’t totally into the book while I was reading it?

What’s all the mystery behind the Rita Morrone’s mother? How did LeVonne end up in Vito’s employ? What was the source of Rita’s commitment issues, was it simply because Paul wasn’t really the one for her? Okay, so that’s not a lot of questions, but that’s where I was left hanging.

Overall, it was well worth reading. At a stressful time in my life, it was the perfect novel – not too complicated, easy to digest.

Like this:

It’s been awhile since I went anywhere with my parents so when the opportunity was there on Sunday, I took it. Mom and Dad always loved to go on weekend drives, or just go malling. There was a time in our lives, just a couple years back, when that had to take a backseat because it was an expensive ‘hobby,’ but I’m glad that they are able to find time to do it again these days.

Mom heard about this theme farm in Mendez, Cavite (near Tagaytay) and thought it would be nice to go there and bring along my nephews Esban and AJ. She was hesitant to take the latter because he’s too excitable and she might not have the energy to keep up with him. So I volunteered to go with them to help with the kids. I volunteered despite the fact that I would be coming from shift, and would surely be sleepy. 🙂As is turns out, AJ couldn’t go, so it was just the ‘rents, Esban and myself.He had his GameBoy with him though he didn’t play with it as much as I thought he would. The only time I wished we didn’t let him bring it along was during lunch when he refused to finish his food and then just pretended to be too involved in his game. The thing is, he was sleepy by then and I guess he was trying to hide it by just playing.

Mom brought along a tubao – a piece of cloth made by local/ethnic communities in Mindanao and used as head turbans, among others. I used to have a lot of those that I carry as my hanky. When I was younger and used to tag along in roadtrips with my parents, my mom would toss me a tubao or two and I’d just let my imagination run along and while away the time playing with those. As for my nephew, it kept him busy for 2 minutes, tops. But that’s also because he kept talking to me too. I had him singing, counting, spelling simple words, all the way to our first stop – Tagaytay.We had lunch at Leslie’s where this picture was taken with the lovely view of Taal Volcano in the background. It was so cold up there, I tell you. It was unexpected at high noon!

ParadiZoo was just in the next town and though we missed a turn, it wasn’t too difficult to find it.

Given that it was a Sunday, the place wasn’t as full as we thought it would be. And it wasn’t scorching hot at all, the sun was actually just perfect for a stroll.

We all had a grand time, my nephew looked so happy and we could tell he was excited all throughout. My mom probably spent more than she anticipated, but it all seems worth it.

As for me? I had a blast too. And I didn’t get tired as easily as I thought. I did sleep most of the way home though. Esban and I both. Hehe.

I am looking forward to scrapping the photos we took, maybe this time I’ll do a better job at adding journalling. Good luck to me! 🙂